Autodesk Maya AlternativesOnly apps categorised as VFX Software

The best VFX alternative to Autodesk Maya is Blender, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Autodesk Maya and five of them are VFX Software so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting VFX Software alternatives to Autodesk Maya are Houdini, Vue, LightWave and Deep FX Studio.

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Alternatives list

  1. Blender icon

    Blender

     1752 likes

    A comprehensive open-source 3D software suite for modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging, and animating. It supports renderings, simulations including fluid and cloth dynamics, complex compositing, video editing, and Python scripting, running across all major operating systems.

    140 Blender alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Steam
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Splash Artwork for Blender 4.3
     
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    12
    Comments about Blender as an Alternative to Autodesk Maya
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    12

    The team is continually adding updates, and the features are excellent. Unfortunately, the UI is hard to navigate.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Edward Stewart
    Positive
    0

    Blender is being actively developed. Besides, you can't beat free.

    smess
    Positive
    1

    Blender has advanced to become a powerful tool. Just look at the improvements that have been made in the UI, viewport quality, performance improvements, and new feature releases. Just one simple download of about ~200Mb will give you a valuable 3D editor for your graphics career.

    3 of 12 comments
    Blender icon
    Blender icon
    • Blender is Free and Open SourceAutodesk Maya is Paid and Proprietary
    • Blender is Customizable, Lightweight and Privacy focusedAutodesk Maya is not according to our users
  2. Houdini icon

    Houdini

     41 likes

    Houdini covers all the major areas of 3D production, including:

    • Modeling - All standard geometry entities including Polygons, (Hierarchical) NURBs/Bezier Curves/Patches & Trims, Metaballs
    • Animation - Keyframed animation and raw channel manipulation (CHOPs), motion captur.
    47 Houdini alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Houdini screenshot 1
     
  4. Vue icon

    Vue

     29 likes

    Create vast expanses of terrains, add trees, select the best point of view and render hyper-realistic images of your landscapes in moody atmospheres... in a few mouse clicks.

    62 Vue alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    vue final
     
  5. LightWave icon

    LightWave

     17 likes

    LightWave 3D combines a state-of-the-art renderer with powerful, intuitive modeling, and animation tools. Tools that may cost extra in other professional 3D applications are part of the product package, including 999 free cross-platform render nodes, support for Windows and Mac...

    46 LightWave alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    LightWave screenshot 1
     
  6. Deep FX Studio icon

    Deep FX Studio

     1 like

    Deep FX Studio is a general purpose 3D computer graphics application that runs on Windows and will be ported to Linux in the future. Tools anyone can use and master. Built from the ground up to be intuitive for artists who only want to focus on their art, and technical artists...

    10 Deep FX Studio alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Deep FX Studio screenshot 1
     
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